I’ll give you four reasons as to why drinking water will help you loose weight right now.

1. Drinking Water Reduces Hunger

The signals related to early hunger and thirst can be exactly the same.

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A lot of people, when they feel themselves getting hungry will reach for something to eat. However, if you haven’t been keeping yourself well hydrated this feeling could actually be your body asking for water, not food.

If you don’t realise this you can end up eating a lot more than you need, with obvious consequences!

Drinking water to lose weight keeps you hydrated, so the hunger you feel will be for food, when you need calories and not just water.

2. Drinking Water Provides Calorie Free Energy For Your Brain

Your brain is the main driving force for your fluid intake and that’s because there is more water in your brain than any other part of your body. So any shortage of water is felt by your brain first.

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Your brain has several potential energy sources, glucose is the most obvious one. But did you know that some energy is derived by water traveling across cell membranes? This can be likened by hydroelectric energy. This doesn’t involve calories.

Because some of your brain’s energy is derived from water, it will ask for more when your body is getting a bit dehydrated. Remember, you brain feels dehydration before any other part of your body, because its percentage of water is higher. But because no one told us that mild hunger can actually mean we’re thirsty, a lot of people eat at this point. So your brain wanted more water for its energy but it gets food instead.

Your brain will use some of this energy from the food you ate for its energy needs but the brain is a small organ, so it’s not going to use much. If you weren’t genuinely hungry for calories the rest of your body doesn’t need this food yet either. So it’s destined for your fat stores.

Simply by not keeping well hydrated you could be eating more than you need, hampering your weight loss efforts. So this is another reason that drinking water to lose weight works.

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3. Drinking Water Is Necessary To Switch Your Fat Burning Enzymes On

Fat breakdown depends on water. It doesn’t happen efficiently without plenty of it. Looking at your body fat as a whole, something has to happen to it for it to shrink so you can get slimmer. It needs to be broken down so it can be used by your body.

An enzyme called lipase is required to break down fat. If you imagine your fat as a brick wall, lipase is a chisel that removes the bricks one by one. The bricks are now free to travel to be used around the body and burned up for energy.

Lipase needs water in a good supply to work well. This is how it works:

Fat + Water + Lipase = Fatty Acids

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Fatty acids are the small building blocks of fat. They are small enough to be released into your circulation and will be picked up by cells around your body needing energy. They are released easier when you are well hydrated. Drinking water to lose weight allows the enzymes to break down fat efficiently.

4. Drinking Water Increases Energy Levels

Think about a plant that is suffering from lack of water, just imagine it wilting and its stem and leaves going soft. Now imagine the same plant having been fully hydrated, the stem and leaves are firm.

When your body is not hydrated properly, water is taken from your cells to keep your circulation up to full quotas. In this case your cells will look like the wilted plant. A result of this is less than peak energy levels of the cells throughout your body. In this situation you’ll feel under par. If you don’t feel energetic, you won’t be energetic. You won’t move around as much and therefore you won’t burn as much energy.

By keeping your body fully hydrated you cells will be firm and functioning on a higher level. This gives you more energy, so you not only feel better but you do more, burning more calories.

The most important time to drink water is when you wake up because you’ll be dehydrated then. Make sure you have a glass before drinking anything dehydrating like caffeine. Aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water throughout the day, that’s at least 2 litres. Spread it out fairly evenly over course of the day. By drinking this amount you’ll keep your brain hydrated and any hunger you feel will be for food, not water.

10 Simple Morning Exercises That Will Make You Feel Great All Day

There are lots of studies that show if you do some exercise in the morning, you will be in a better mood all day long. You will have more energy and you will certainly be a better colleague, friend or partner.

One psychologist at Duke University has researched the effects of exercise on depressed patients and he has come to the conclusion that exercise has a definite role in treating this condition and has an important role in preventing people from relapsing.[1] According to the New York Times, scientists have now established that exercise also boosts your brain power.[2]

In addition, there are studies from the Appalachian State University which show that blood pressure can be reduced by doing regular morning exercise.[3]

Here are 10 simple morning exercises that will help you feel great the whole day long. You can include some of them in your morning exercise routine or do them all at home without having to enrol in a gym. Consult your doctor before starting any form of exercise routine if you are new to this.

1. Cat Camel Stretch

Stretching exercises are useful for muscle toning and also preventing arthritis. They can either be dynamic or static.

Dynamic ones such as the cat camel stretch, are particularly useful for doing other exercises in the morning. They are also beneficial at other times of the day, especially after long periods of sedentary work. This one is great for spinal flexibility and is a good warm up exercise.

Kneel down on all fours. Start by rounding your back just like a camel so that your head will try to meet your pelvis. This is the camel position. Then lower and lift your head so that your lower back is arched. This is the cat position. Do these movements slowly and smoothly. About 4 or 5 times.

Here’s a video to guide you through:

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2. Go for a Walk or a Run

This is better done outside so that you can connect with nature but running inside on a treadmill is almost as good. You can time yourself and increase length and time according to your fitness program.

Always have new goals to reach. Start with brisk walking and work up to running. At my age, I am still walking!

The health benefits are considerable. You can build stronger bones and you can help to maintain your weight.

3. Jumping Jacks

Michelle Obama is a great fan of this exercise and has become “Jumper in Chief.”[4] They are great for cardiovascular health and also for toning muscles especially the calves and the deltoids.

Stand with feet together. Jump while spreading your arms and legs. Return to first position and keep going! You can start with doing these for 1 minute and then gradually build up to the number you are comfortable with. Here’s how:

4. Abductor Side Lifts

Watch the video below to see how to do this exercise. These muscles are important because you use them everyday to run, get into the car or onto and off a bicycle. They are very important also for your core stability and prevent the pelvis from tilting.[5]

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Do about 10 to 15 raises for each side like this:

5. Balancing Table Pose

This is a classic yoga pose. It benefits the spine, balance, memory and concentration.

Start with the table pose (hands and knees). Breathe in before starting each movement. As you exhale, raise your left leg parallel to the floor as you raise the right arm, also parallel to the floor. Breathe in as you lower arm and leg. Repeat for the other side. 10 repetitions on each side is a good starting point.

Stand with your feet a bit further out from your hips. Arms are out in front of you. Then lower yourself as if you wanted to sit down until you reach a 90 degree angle. You can go down further if you want to. Then return to the starting position. Repeat 15 times for 2 sets for beginners.

The benefits are that these exercises help with knee stability and can benefit the leg muscles such as quadriceps, hamstrings and calves.[6]

7. Push Ups

You start lying down (face down) but with your body held up at arm’s length. Your hands should be in line with your shoulders. Breathe in as you lower your body. That is fairly easy. Now, as you exhale, you have to get back up to the starting position.

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An easier version to start with is to bend your legs at the knees so you do not have to lift your whole body.

Beginners may take up to a month to be able to do 100 push ups so you will have to start with a very small number and gradually increase it.

This exercise is great for strengthening the chest, shoulders and the triceps. It is a great strengthening exercise for many muscle groups. In fact, most muscles from the toes to the shoulders are being used.

8. Bicycle Crunches

There are numerous crunch exercises targeting the abs. The bicycle crunch is a variation where you work more muscle groups. Aim for 15 to 20 reps to start off with.

Watch the video to see how this is done correctly:

9. Lunges

Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Place your hand on your hips. Take one giant step forward with the right leg. Make sure the knee does not go too far forward, that is, past your toes. The left knee will go down to almost floor level. Alternate the legs as you go on.

Try to do a set of between 8 and 12 reps for each leg. It is important to allow for a day of rest, so this exercise should be done on alternate days, especially if you are using weights.

This exercise is great for strengthening and toning the quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings.

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10. Bicep Curls

You can do this sitting down so if you spend a lot of time on the phone, this is a great exercise to do.

Choose suitable dumbbells or another household object that you can easily hold. Sit down with the dumbbell in your hand. You need to sit forward a bit so that your triceps can lean on your thigh to give you support.

Then bring the weighted arm up to shoulder length and then down again. Exhale as you lift the weight and inhale as you lower it.

Here’re some important notes before you start doing this exercise:

Try to do one or two sets of about ten repetitions for each arm and then switch arms.

These exercises are really useful for toning the arm muscles.[7]In addition, they can strengthen and tone the brachioradialis muscle located in the forearm. These are the muscles we use to pick up things when we flex the arm at the elbow so we use these muscles countless times a day.

You may have to build in a rest day for the heavier exercises, numbers 6–10. On the rest days, you can do gentler stretching exercises and also some walking or running.

Morning exercise is not only a great mood booster, but will help you keep your weight down and also sleep better![8] Start including one or some of these exercises in your morning routine!